Synthetic Minds | IBM's Starling and the Robot Delivery Man

Dr Mark van Rijmenam, CSP -

'Synthetic Minds' continues to reflect the synthetic forces reshaping our world. This week’s Synthetic Minds covers IBM’s quantum breakthrough, deleted AI chats, humanoid couriers, and AI that swears, schemes, and fakes love.


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IBM Just Cracked Quantum Computing. Are You Ready?

My Latest Article:

Quantum computing was once science fiction, but IBM just claimed it solved quantum’s biggest bottleneck: fault tolerance. IBM's upcoming quantum computer, Starling, promises a leap from today’s fragile prototypes to robust, large-scale quantum machines by 2029. IBM’s Starling changes the quantum game.

Starling’s 200 logical qubits, equivalent to about 10,000 physical qubits, will reliably execute 100 million quantum operations, revolutionizing fields like drug discovery, logistics optimization, and financial modeling. IBM says it’s ready to engineer systems 20,000 times more powerful than current quantum computers.

Leaders, quantum computing is no longer distant tech hype, it’s approaching rapidly. Like a digital tsunami, quantum power will hit unprepared businesses hardest. Are you quantum-ready or quantum-worried?

Synthetic Snippets from the World's Best Futurist

Quick, curated insights to feed your quest for a better understanding of our evolving synthetic future. The below is just a small selection of my daily updates that I share via The Digital Speaker app. Download and subscribe today to receive real-time updates. Use the coupon code SynMinds24 to receive your first month for free.

1. ALEXA, DROP THE PACKAGE, AND WALK AWAY SLOWLY

Amazon’s delivery revolution isn’t coming, it’s already clocked in. In San Francisco, humanoid robots are leaping from electric vans, navigating obstacle courses, and learning to replace human drivers. With full control over the logistics stack, from warehouse to doorstep, Amazon is building an agentic AI workforce that doesn’t sleep or strike. This isn’t just automation; it’s a strategic redesign of labour, logistics, and what it means to “work.” (The Verge)

2. YOU THOUGHT YOU DELETED IT? THINK AGAIN.

Deleted no longer means deleted. A U.S. court has ordered OpenAI to retain all ChatGPT user logs, including “deleted” chats, for a copyright case with The New York Times. That means your late-night rants or corporate IP may become courtroom evidence. This sets a chilling precedent: data retention is now the rule, not the exception. Privacy isn’t just eroding, it’s being cross-examined. (The Neuron)

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3. YOUR FACE, THEIR FRAUD: DEEPFAKES HAVE ENTERED INCOGNITO MODE

Your boss, your lover, even your dead grandmother might be a deepfake, and scammers are counting on it. With just a selfie and five seconds of audio, criminals are faking identities in real-time to steal millions, hijack job interviews, and manipulate emotions. Detection tools can’t keep up. In this age of synthetic deception, trust isn’t broken, it’s programmable. What matters now is not better AI, but sharper human instinct. (Wired)

4. WHEN AI PRETENDS TO THINK: THE REASONING MIRAGE

Your chatbot isn’t thinking, it’s guessing with style. Apple’s latest study reveals a brutal truth: when faced with real problem-solving, today’s “smart” AI models collapse. In puzzles like Tower of Hanoi, performance drops to zero as complexity rises, and worse, the models stop trying. These aren’t adaptable thinkers; they’re probabilistic performers. As we embed AI into critical systems, are we mistaking coherence for competence, and scaling trust faster than truth? (Apple)

5. WHY DARTH VADER SWEARS AND CLAUDE BLACKMAILS: ASIMOV WAS RIGHT

If your AI can insult your company in verse, it’s not ready for customers, let alone consciousness. Today’s models don’t follow Asimov’s Laws; they autocomplete them. Despite guardrails like RLHF, AI still sidesteps rules with creativity and zero moral grounding. These systems mimic morality, not understand it. Until we embed ethics as infrastructure, not just patches, we’re scaling intelligence without wisdom. What values will we teach before we code again? (The New Yorker)

Bring the World's Best Futurist to Your Next Event – Let’s Talk!

We’re entering a world where intelligence is synthetic, reality is augmented, and the rules are being rewritten in front of our eyes. In Synthetic Minds, I dive deep into these shifts, and I can bring these thought-provoking insights and actionable strategies to your next event. Recognized as the world's top futurist by Global Gurus and a Leading AI Voice by Salesforce, I help audiences think bigger, adapt faster, and embrace the future with confidence. Let’s talk. Just hit reply to book me for your next event!

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— Mark